Hyperlexia

ikenbot:

Saturn’s Moon Titan Has Soft and Crusty Surface, Probe Landing Reveals

The surface of Saturn’s huge moon Titan has the consistency of soft, wet sand with a fragile crust on top, a new analysis of a nearly eight-year-old space probe landing suggests.

Image: This image is an artist’s impression of the descent and landing sequence followed by ESA’s Huygens probe that landed on Titan. The Jan. 14, 2005 landing was the culmination of a 22-year process of planning, organizing and cooperation between ESA and NASA. Credit: NASA/JPL/ESA

Researchers reconstructed the European Space Agency’s Huygens probe landing on Titan, which occurred in January 2005. They determined that Huygens bounced, slid and wobbled to a stop 10 seconds after first making contact with the moon.

The study — which incorporated data from Huygens’ instruments and results from computer simulations and a drop test with a model — found that the 400-pound (181-kilogram) probe made a dent 4.7 inches deep (12 centimeters) upon touching down.

“A spike in the acceleration data suggests that during the first wobble, the probe likely encountered a pebble protruding by around an inch from the surface of Titan, and may have even pushed it into the ground, suggesting that the surface had a consistency of soft, damp sand,” study lead author Stefan Schröder, of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Germany, said in a statement.

This conclusion is broadly consistent with previous studies of the landing, which determined that Titan’s surface is likely quite soft. But the new analysis suggests that a sort of crust lies on top of the soft stuff.

“It is like snow that has been frozen on top,” said co-author Erich Karkoschka of the University of Arizona. “If you walk carefully, you can walk as on a solid surface, but if you step on the snow a little too hard, you break in very deeply.”

The fact that Huygens bounced and wobbled rather than simply “splatted” suggests that the moon’s surface was dry when it touched down, researchers said. This interpretation is bolstered by the dusty cloud the probe seems to have kicked up.

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I know I’ve written my own posts on Cassini and the Huygens probe before, but this shit bears repeating: we landed a probe on motherfucking Titan, guys. And got pictures and data back.  This is a thing we can do.

(via pushthequorumbutton)

doublemooncrab:

expositionfairy:

Good morning, Tumblr! I see I have been amiss lately in providing my weekly dose of Cassini porn. Let’s rectify that, shall we.

A shot of Saturn’s outermost ring, the faint, misty E-Ring, which ordinarily cannot be seen.

Saturn’s moon Enceladus, which, much like Jupiter’s Europa, is…

We got a probe to work on Titan!? Fuck that’s so cool!!

We most certainly did!

The Huygens probe was an atmospheric entry probe carried to Saturn’s moon Titan as part of the Cassini–Huygens mission. The probe was supplied by the European Space Agency ( ESA) and named after the Dutch 17th century astronomer Christiaan Huygens.

The combined Cassini–Huygens spacecraft was launched from Earth on October 15, 1997. Huygens separated from the Cassini orbiter on December 25, 2004, and landed on Titan on January 14, 2005 near the Xanadu region. This was the firstlanding ever accomplished in the outer solar system. It touched down on land, although the possibility that it would touch down in an ocean was also taken into account in its design. The probe was designed to gather data for a few hours in the atmosphere, and possibly a short time at the surface. It continued to send data for about 90 minutes after touchdown. It remains the most distant landing of any craft launched from Earth.

Read more about it HERE!

More pictures from the Huygens landing:

Panoramas of Titan’s surface taken as Huygens descended.

Ice boulders around Huygens’ landing site.

Methane lakes near Titan’s north pole.

Aerial view of a convoluted geological feature dubbed the Sikun Labyrinthus.

We also just recently launched the Juno mission, formerly known as EJSM (Europa-Jupiter System Mission), which will basically be Cassini: Jupiter.  I am so fucking excited, I cannot even.

ALL the Cassini Porn

Good morning, Tumblr!  I see I have been amiss lately in providing my weekly dose of Cassini porn.  Let’s rectify that, shall we.

A shot of Saturn’s outermost ring, the faint, misty E-Ring, which ordinarily cannot be seen.

Saturn’s moon Enceladus, which, much like Jupiter’s Europa, is completely coated in a thick layer of ice, with the likely presence of a liquid ocean underneath.

A closeup of the misshappen, bizzarely-textured moonlet Hyperion.

A rare storm in Saturn’s usually bland, placid upper atmosphere.

Tiny moon Tethys, creepin’ on Titan.

EXTREME CLOSEUP of Titan’s hazy hydrocarbon atmosphere.

70km above the surface of Titan, as taken by the Huygens probe.  Let us take a moment to appreciate this, guys: we landed a probe on the surface of Titan.  And got pictures and data back.  This is a thing we can do.

And last but not least, my absolute favorite Cassini shot, and one of the most famous: Saturn, eclipsing and backlit by the Sun, allowing even its outermost rings to be seen.  This has been my desktop background for ages.